CBS News, citing former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell and former CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden, said Haspel told senators in private meetings that she would "never let the CIA restart an interrogation and detention program."
Haspel vowed to keep the CIA focused on its primary duty of collection and analysis, the report said.
Haspel oversaw the interrogation of a detainee at a secret US prison in Thailand who was waterboarded 83 times in a single month. She also reportedly participated in the destruction of videos of interrogations using techniques, which have since been formally labeled torture and outlawed by Congress.
Haspel’s nomination has been publicly supported by many lawmakers, including Senator Dianne Feinstein who headed the Senate committee that released the infamous CIA torture report against her.
Feinstein told reporters in March that Haspel was "a good deputy director of the CIA," and she hopes the agency learned its lessons. US Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr in a March press release said Haspel has the experience and judgment necessary to lead the CIA and vowed to ensure her nomination was considered without delay.
